Design Mind frogcast: How We Venture with Bayer Consumer Health
Release Date: November 2, 2022
Host: Elizabeth Wood
Guests: Dave Evandon Challis, Lily Wong, Daniel Kolodji, Kim Glado, Matthias Pilmeier, Ethan Imboden, Akhil Harjevan
Introduction
In the episode titled "How We Venture: Bayer Consumer Health", host Elizabeth Wood delves into the collaborative venture between Frog, a global creative consultancy, and Bayer, a century-old life sciences giant. This partnership focuses on building and launching innovative consumer health ventures aimed at enhancing healthy aging through digitally enabled self-care platforms.
Chapter 1: A New Approach to Growing
The conversation kicks off with Dave Evandon Challis, Bayer’s Chief Scientific Officer and Head of R&D at bioconsumer Health. Dave highlights the shifting landscape of consumer health, emphasizing the role of digital transformation:
"[00:02:32] Consumer health is changing in a ton of different ways. The emergence of digital technologies is changing everything."
— Dave Evandon Challis
He discusses the integration of epigenetics to measure biological age and the critical role of nutrition, diet, and exercise in managing aging. Dave underscores the industry's move from treatment to prevention, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic:
"[00:06:50] Post Covid, 60% of people want to use more technology to talk to their healthcare professional."
— Dave Evandon Challis
Lily Wong, Bayer’s Lead for Digital Transformation, adds that the explosion of data presents both challenges and opportunities for personalized health solutions.
Chapter 2: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained – Ventures
Daniel Kolodji, Product Strategy and Venture Director at Frog, elaborates on the concept of corporate venture building as a strategy to overcome legacy business model constraints:
"[00:08:31] Ventures is one answer to the corporate growth problem. It's a way of creating entirely new business models and businesses from scratch."
— Daniel Kolodji
He emphasizes the importance of behavioral science in understanding consumer needs and driving impactful health solutions in a competitive market:
"[00:11:02] Behavioral science gives you a really nice humanistic way of understanding what you want someone to do."
— Daniel Kolodji
Daniel also advocates for Steve Blank's customer development process, highlighting the necessity of validating ideas through direct consumer feedback.
Chapter 3: A Healthy Dose of Digital Transformation
Lily Wong discusses the integration of digital capabilities within Bayer's consumer health initiatives:
"[00:13:54] We look at all types of data in Bayer consumer health, whether it's quantitative data or qualitative data."
— Lily Wong
She explains how digital transformation enhances internal efficiencies and fosters better connections with consumers through transparency and personalized digital experiences. Frog's role in de-risking digital health propositions through rapid prototyping and data-driven approaches is also highlighted.
Chapter 4: Pay No Attention to the Brand Behind the Curtain
Kim Glado, Principal Designer at Frog, details the collaborative design process with Bayer:
"[00:20:26] Most people are looking for health solutions that are quite personalized."
— Kim Glado
She explains the use of rapid prototyping and methods like Wizard of Oz testing to gauge consumer interest without revealing the venture's identity prematurely. This approach allowed the team to iterate quickly based on real-time data from social media campaigns and landing page metrics.
Chapter 5: Testing and Learning, and Testing Again
Matthias Pilmeier, Associate Strategy Director at Frog, emphasizes the importance of data-driven design and strategic decision-making:
"[00:25:06] We have different methodologies like cluster analysis, maxdiff analysis, conjoint analysis, classic correlation analysis."
— Matthias Pilmeier
He illustrates how quantitative and qualitative data informed the design of a personalized healthy aging platform, ensuring that Bayer's investments align with consumer needs and market potential.
Akhil Harjevan, who leads digital products within Bayer Consumer Healthcare, shares insights on embracing a test-and-learn mindset:
"[00:36:30] Test and learn is definitely part of it. I see experimentation at multiple levels."
— Akhil Harjevan
Akhil underscores the cultural shift required to accept failure as a learning tool, fostering an environment where innovative ideas can thrive without jeopardizing Bayer’s scientific credibility.
Conclusion
Ethan Imboden, Global Head of Ventures at Frog, wraps up the discussion by highlighting the critical aspects of corporate venture building, including category creation, technology interpretation, behavior change, and convergent experiences:
"[00:29:22] The only magic that matters is the magic that makes it to market."
— Ethan Imboden
He emphasizes validation testing as a continuous process essential for mitigating risks and ensuring that new ventures align with market demands.
Akhil Harjevan concludes with optimism about the future of consumer health, stressing the potential of technology and data to drive personalized and effective health solutions:
"[00:40:06] Technology is here. I think it's just about us rallying the troops, getting the right companies, partners working together to really move the needle."
— Akhil Harjevan
Key Takeaways
- Digital Transformation: The integration of digital tools and data science is revolutionizing consumer health, enabling personalized and proactive self-care solutions.
- Corporate Ventures: Building new ventures allows established companies like Bayer to innovate without being hindered by legacy business models, fostering growth and resilience.
- Data-Driven Design: Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data informs strategic decisions, ensuring that new products meet evolving consumer needs.
- Collaborative Innovation: Partnerships with creative consultancies like Frog facilitate rapid prototyping, testing, and iteration, accelerating the journey from concept to market.
- Cultural Shift: Embracing a test-and-learn mentality and accepting failure as a part of the innovation process is crucial for developing impactful health solutions.
For More Information:
Visit frog.co to learn about Frog’s corporate venture building and explore their latest insights in the Design Mind frogcast.